


the place you need to reach

by friedtoffee



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caleb Widogast Deserves Nice Things, Caleb Widogast Gets A Hug, Caleb Widogast Needs a Hug, Caleb Widogast-centric, Minor Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post C2E98, Trent Ikithon Bashing, Trent Ikithon Being an Asshole, Warning: Trent Ikithon, allura is a magic mom, caleb's backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 20,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23504704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friedtoffee/pseuds/friedtoffee
Summary: Caleb accidentally makes allies with people much more powerful than himself. They don’t like Trent Ikithon and neither do I.aka Allura, Vex, and Percy decide to fight Trent Icky-thong
Comments: 79
Kudos: 506





	1. Chapter 1

The sky was gentle today. A few clouds roamed the sky and a light breeze would make its way through. Caleb sat on the deck of the Balleater looking out at the expansive ocean that surrounded him. Frumpkin sat curled up in his lap, and Caleb mindlessly stroked him with one hand while the other hand held a piece of parchment. 

Lady Allura,  
I do not know if the news has reached you yet, but the peace talks between the Empire and the Dynasty were successful. For now, the war is over. The outcome of the peace talks is not why I write to you, however. If you remember back in Tidepeak tower, I had found an incomplete spell for a permanent change to a humanoid’s body. I have spent a long time looking into this spell and with the help of friends, I am excited to inform you that it is complete. I cast the spell before we set sail for the talks. The little goblin known as Nott has officially been transformed back into her original form as Veth, a halfling woman. I hope that we can meet again and I can share the spell with you.  
Thank you,  
Caleb Widogast  
The Mighty Nein

Caleb finished rereading the parchment, folded it, and with a quick hand motion sent it off to Allura. 

“There you are Caleb!” Beauregard’s voice called from the opposite side of the deck as she began to walk towards Caleb. “Come with me”

“What am I coming with you for”

“Celebrating,” Beau wrapped her arm around Caleb and started to lead him down to the lower deck. “You got to get your head out of those books for a moment”Beau turned her head just in time to see Caleb stick his tongue out at her which was followed by a quick punch to his arm

“Owww” Caleb responded and his hand reached to rub the spot that she had punched. “You’re a little shit you know that”

Beauregard led Caleb down into a small dining room within the Balleater. Around the table sat Yasha, Jester, and Veth. Veth had her flask in hand, and Yasha was keeping a careful eye on her. No one wanted Veth to slip back into her old habits of constant drinking. Fjord was in the back of the room looking for a bottle of some sort of alcohol in the cabinet. As Beau and Caleb arrived, Caduceus entered the room with a kettle of tea and set it down on the table in front of Jester.

“Hold on,” Beau said, noticing Fjord searching for alcohol. She reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of wine. “I still got a bottle of wine that I took when we were at my house. I was saving it for a special occasion and this is the best use I can think of.” She opened the bottle, took a swig, handed the bottle to Caleb, and took a seat. Caleb took the direction and also took a swig from the bottle. He offered the bottle to the rest of the crew sitting down. Fjord grabbed the bottle from him. 

“So, Caleb, what were you doing all alone on the deck?” Jester asked, wanting to pry into his actions.

“I was writing a letter.” He responded

“To who?”

“Lady Allura”

“Really?”

“Ja”

“Why?”

“To tell her that the war is over and the peace talks were a success. And then I told her about the transmogrification spell that Essek and I worked on and that that was also a success and that I would love to share it with her.”

“Well, you are going to have to wait until Traveler Con is over to do that. Which reminds me, what day is it again Caleb?”

“It is the 11th of Unndilar. You still have fifteen days until Traveler Con. You have time.”

Jester returned to the tea that Caduceus had provided for the two of them. The night continued without much more questioning. The Mighty Nein were finally able to relax for a little bit without having to worry about whether the Empire and Dynasty were going to blow the other’s ships out of the water. Being able to relax was not something Caleb was often able to do. He was always on the lookout for trouble and ready to fight back. Now the only plans that Caleb had were to wait for a response from Allura and hopefully some smooth sailing to Rumblecusp. Knowing what has already happened during this adventure at sea, he could only hope for nothing to happen. Most likely they would be attacked again, it would not be a surprise. 

After a long night of drinking and revelry, Caleb returned to his chamber on the Balleater. As he began his nightly ritual of setting the alarm spell, a piece of parchment flashed into view. He grabbed it from the air and began to read.

Caleb,  
It is lovely to hear from you again. I am delighted to hear that the negotiations between the Dynasty and the Empire worked out. Hopefully, the peace will last.  
As for this spell that you have mentioned. I do remember you briefly mentioning it back at Yussa’s tower. If it was indeed started by Halas and you finished it, it must be quite the spell. A true polymorph of some sort that will last forever. I am definitely interested.  
Unfortunately, I am visiting friends at the moment and not at my home in Emon. I have just arrived in Whitestone and will be here for approximately two weeks as I complete some business. You are welcome to visit me, however, if you find the time before I leave. I am including at the bottom of this letter the teleportation circle in Whitestone. Please feel free to join me for a discussion on your travels since we last spoke and this spell you have created. I will tell the guards here to expect your arrival. Simply tell them that Lady Allura sent for you. They will let you through. I hope to see you soon.  
Sincerely,  
Allura Vysoren

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic, so please be nice! First off, I don't know if parchment that can instant send actually exists, but I feel like it has been used before in Critical Role at some point, so it exists in this story. Second, I will be ignoring spell levels and some dnd mechanics in later chapters just for plot reasons. That's all!


	2. Chapter 2

Luckily, the night passed without any interruptions. Caleb had quite a nice sleep during the night. He woke to the smell of breakfast being made in the kitchen of the ship. Caleb made his way through the quarters to the kitchen where he found Caduceus. 

“Good morning Mr. Caleb. Would you like some tea?” Caduceus asked

“Ja, that would be nice,” Caleb responded and sat down at the table. As Caduceus continued to cook, the rest of the Mighty Nein started to wake up and make their way to the kitchen. Breakfast and tea was served to everyone. Even on a ship, Caduceus could make delicious food. This morning he had managed to bake some pastries much to the delight of Jester. She thought that they could use a little more cinnamon though.

After everyone had finished their meal, Caleb stood up. “I’ll be in my room reading if anyone needs me,” he said and then walked out of the dining area towards his room. Once he was out of sight, he took out a short piece of copper wire and pointed towards the room he had just left.  
“Veth, meet me in my room when you are done. You can reply to this message.” Caleb finished the message and continued his way to his room. 

“Ok,” Veth replied to the message.

Once he arrived, Caleb began to gather anything he had scattered around the room. He had never traveled anywhere that was not Wildemount or the Lucidian Ocean, so he did not know what the weather would be like there. He grabbed his long jacket he bought in Xhorhas just in case. 

Then there was a knock at the door. “Caleb? Are you in there?” Veth asked through the closed door.

Caleb walked over to the door and opened it. “Come on in”

“Is everything alright?”

“Ja, ja, everything fine. I just wanted to let you know that I am leaving for a few days and will meet you all at Rumblecusp.”

“Caleb, where are you going?”

“To see Allura in Whitestone. She invited me to come and I cannot just say no to her. She wants to hear more about the spells I have created. I just don’t want everyone to tell me that I’m not allowed to go or even worse everyone would want to come with me. Ok?” Caleb replied.

“I’m allowing this on one condition”

“And what would that be?”

“You find out who is on the Council of Tal’Dorei. This is very important.”

“Got it. After you walk out of this room give it at least ten minutes before you tell them that I left. Or just leave it to themselves to find out I left. I expect an angry message from Jester at some point,” Caleb finished giving the instructions to Veth, and she walked out of the room. He then grabbed his chalks and began to draw the circle to Whitestone that Allura had provided him with. With the final stroke of the chalk, the spell was completed and Caleb stepped into the circle.

With a sudden flash, Caleb appeared in a room in what he could only assume to be Whitestone. The room was rather small with stone walls and the teleportation circle he had just arrived through was in the middle of the room. A wooden door was situated in the far right corner of the room. Caleb walked over to it. As he opened the door, a guard in the hallway noticed him. The guard reached for his shortsword and approached Caleb.

“Who are you? State your name and business here in the castle!” The guard demanded at once.

“My name is Caleb Widogast. I am here for Lady Allura. She sent for me.” Caleb closed the door behind him and raised his hands in defense, not wanting to cause any alarm.

The guard looks down the corridor and calls out to another guard, “Samuel! Come here and watch this man while I go find Lady Vysoren. Make sure he doesn’t do anything.” The other guard, who Caleb assumed must be Samuel, made his way over to Caleb and took position across the hall from him. Samuel was quite average looking. Medium height, brown hair, enough muscles to be a guard. Nothing Caleb would have to worry about.

Caleb snapped his fingers while waiting to bring his cat Frumpkin into the material plane. The guard, Samuel, noticed this and began to reach for his sword when Caleb stopped him. “Calm down. It is just my cat, ok.”

Samuel released his hand from the end of his sword. He relaxed against the wall. Caleb and Samuel stared at each other while Frumpkin hopped up and curled himself around Caleb’s neck like a scarf. Caleb lifted his hand and scratched right behind Frumpkin’s ear. He could feel the purrs of Frumpkin in his neck.

After a couple minutes of silence, the sound of footsteps emanated from the way that the other guard had left earlier. Rounding the corner were two figures, a woman with long braided graying blonde hair and the guard from earlier. The woman quickly said something to the guard, and he vanished behind the corner. Allura gracefully walked down the hallway to where Caleb was standing with Samuel. 

Allura looked at Samuel and said “You may go no. I can take it from here.” Samuel nodded and headed off in the opposite direction. 

Allura moved her gaze over to Caleb. “Caleb Widogast. Lovely to see you again.”

“And you as well, Allura Vysoren,” Caleb responded. 

Allura gave Caleb a quick hug. “Now we have a lot to talk about don’t we? But first, let me give you a quick tour of where you are. Follow me.” She began to walk down the hallway and Caleb followed behind her. 

Just then Caleb remembered the promise he had made to Veth before he had left. He spoke up as they began to ascend the stairs into the castle, “Allura, before I forget, Veth wanted me to ask you again. Who is on the Council of Tal’Dorei?”

Allura let out a soft laugh. “I’m afraid that will remain a secret to your little friend for a while longer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally in Whitestone! Yay


	3. Chapter 3

Allura reached the top of the stairs and pushed open the wooden door. Allura motioned for Caleb to follow her out of the stairway and into the main building. The stairs had led to another hallway, but Allura continued walking and entered a larger room. There was a large window which looked out to what looked to Caleb as the town of Whitestone. The room was well furnished with a large couch and a couple of chairs. There was a simple rug in the middle of the room on which the couch and chairs sat. On the other walls, Caleb noticed some paintings. They were simple paintings, nothing too grand. Allura walked over to the window. Caleb wondered over and stood next to her.

“Welcome to Whitestone.” She said.

“It is a beautiful town,” Caleb replied.

“I thought we should take a walk around while we talk. Is that alright with you?”

“Ja, sounds good.”

“Perfect,” Allura turned around and led Caleb through many more rooms and hallways until they reached the front door.

As Allura began to open the door, a voice called out from the hallway, “Aren’t you going to introduce your guest before leaving?” 

Standing there was a couple that Caleb did not recognize. The speaker was a tall human man with bright white hair. He wore a long blue coat and very strange looking glasses. Next to him was a slightly shorter half-elven woman with long dark brown hair.

Allura turned to look at the couple, “Percival, I wouldn’t dream of it. Caleb, I would like you to meet the de Rolos. Percy, Vex, I would like you to meet Caleb Widogast. Now, if you don’t mind we were about to go on a walk around the town. You are free to join us if you wish.”

The couple shared a quick glance at each other before the woman, who he presumed to be Vex, spoke. “That sounds lovely. Now Caleb dear, why don’t you tell us all about yourself and how you met Allura”

Before Caleb could even respond a voice popped into his head. “Hello Caleb! Where did you go? You finished breakfast and then you just disappeared. Veth is just avoiding us. When are you getting back did” Jester’s voice cut off. Caleb attempted to reply before Jester’s voice came back into his head. “Sorry I have more to say. So did you fall off the boat? Do we need to turn around and rescue you. Are you dead?”

Caleb closed his eyes, let out a sigh, and responded. “I’m fine Jester. I’m with Allura. I will be back in time for Traveler Con. Don’t worry. Message me when you get there” 

Caleb opened his eyes after he finished responding to Jester. He looked up with a smile. Jester’s messages were always entertaining, but it was very strange to be on the receiving end of it. Normally he just saw Jester send the messages, and he felt bad for whoever she sent the message to. Now he was the recipient. Allura gave Caleb a knowing look. She had been on the receiving end of Jester’s antics before. 

Caleb looked back at the de Rolos, who were still waiting for Caleb to answer their question about how he knew Allura. “Sorry about that, just a worried friend.” Caleb apologized. “Well back to your question, that is quite the long story I suppose.” Caleb paused for a moment. He wasn’t sure where he should start. He didn’t know these people, but if Allura was friends with them, and she trusted, then he hopefully could trust them as well. “I normally travel with a group. We call ourselves the Mighty Nein. There’s me, a wizard. There’s Fjord, he is a half-orc who recently came into the service of Melora. There’s Beauregard, she’s the only other human in the group. She is a monk of the Cobalt Soul. There’s Veth, she is the whole reason why I’m here actually. She has sticky fingers but is quite talented with a crossbow. Then we have Jester, uh she’s a tiefling and a cleric of the Traveler, who is apparently not an actual god. Not sure what is going on there. She was the one who had just sent me a message. Next is Caduceus, he is also a cleric. He follows Melora as well. Finally, there is Yasha. She is very strong. That is all of us” 

As Caleb finished describing the motley crew he traveled with, a look of confusion came across the faces of both Percy and Vex. “The Mighty Nein, interesting, but there’s only seven of you though” Vex said.

“Ah, it’s a bit of wordplay. Nein is spelled N E I N. You see it is the word for no in zemnian. Started as a bit of a joke and now it is our name. Sometimes it helps us get more money, claiming that we lost two people while working a job.” Caleb laughed. He could remember when they were first asked what they could be called. Those were simpler times. It was when the Mighty Nein were just a group of people who barely knew each other and were just trying to get a bit of money. Now look at them. They were getting involved in politics, stopping a war, sailing the seas, fighting a betrayer god. Even with everything that was happening in his life, Caleb could still laugh at the name that their group gave themselves. 

As Caleb explained the meaning behind the Mighty Nein, they began the walk from the castle down into the city of Whitestone proper. Caleb could now see that Whitestone is a city that is surrounded by a forest. The lush green of the forest provided a nice change from the endless blue of the ocean that Caleb had just traveled from. 

“Now, the story of how the Mighty Nein and myself met our mutual friend here. For this I take you to Nicodranas. We had just teleported to Tidepeak tower to talk to the mage that lives there. His name is Yussa Errenis. However, when we arrived his servant Wensforth told us that he wasn’t there. He had gone into, at the time we referred to as the Happy Fun Ball, and had not returned. Now the Happy Fun Ball is neither Happy nor Fun. It is dangerous, full of secret rooms, and time is strange within it. Wensforth asked us for permission to send a message to an unknown ally of Yussa for help. We told him he could and then Allura arrived as the ally. We ended up finding Yussa.” Caleb rushed the end of the story. He did not want to go into the details of everything they had to deal with in the happy fun ball, and he certainly did not want to tell anyone about the deal with the Chained Oblivion. “Allura has helped us out in a few situations after that. That’s all really”

Allura laughed at Caleb’s explanation of the event. She looked at Percy and Vex, “He honestly doesn’t give themselves enough credit. The Happy Fun Ball as they refer to it, is actually an extraplanar manor belonging to a mage from the age of arcanum called Halas. The sphere is also referred to as the archmage’s bane. I could have never made it through there and Caleb and his group did.”

By the time Caleb had told the story of how they met Allura, and by the time Allura had finished giving Caleb more credit than he thought he deserved, they had made it into a square in the middle of the city. In the middle of the square was a large tree. It was smaller than the tree that Caduceus planted on top of the Xhorhaus, but it was stunning to look at with its large branches that reached out over the square. Despite being a smaller tree, it shared the same magnificence that the one on top of the Xhorhaus had.

Percy noticed as Caleb stared at the tree, “The sun tree,” he explained, “Pelor created the tree to watch over the land. Around 200 years ago the original members of my family were shipwrecked and came across the tree and they settled here and built the city.”

“I never knew much about Whitestone” Caleb replied “I only ever knew that it was a city that produced residuum. I used it quite a bit during my studies when I was younger. I prefer not to use it now, however.” Caleb let out an uncomfortable laugh. If Caleb would never use residuum again, it would not be long enough. 

Allura turned towards Caleb, “Now, let's continue our tour of the town. I have a friend who might be in town that I would like you to meet.” Allura switched her attention to Percy and Vex’ahlia, “Do you know if Gilmore is in town?”

“I am not sure,” Vex responded. “He could be. Let’s make our way there then.”

“So, if I may ask, who is this Gilmore?” Caleb asked.

“He is the proprietor of a chain of shops called Gilmore’s Glorious Goods. He is quite the personality, even in his older age. If you can make acquaintance with Yussa, you simply must meet him.” Allura explained. “If you wouldn’t mind, I was thinking you could share your work with him as well.”

“Ja, for sure,” Caleb said.

The group made their way southward, further away from the castle. They stopped in front of a small looking building. Caleb thought that it seemed a bit small to be a store that Allura spoke such impressive words about, but the beaded curtains in the windows and the purple exterior told him that he would be in for a treat. 

Vex’ahlia entered first. Pushing open the door, she announced, “Gilmore, it’s me, Vex. Are you here or not? I brought guests.”

Caleb entered behind Vex. The inside of the store was much larger than what it appeared to be on the outside. The interior matched if not exceeded the intensity of the exterior. As Caleb glanced around the shop, an older man entered from behind a beaded curtain. He was a human with darker skin and a slight paunch. He was draped in extravagant purple robes. The sight reminded Caleb of Mollymauk a little.

“Vex’ahlia! Lovely to see.” Gilmore held his hands out and walked over to embrace her. “I see you brought Percival and Allura.” He took a moment to acknowledge the two and then he noticed Caleb. “And who might this young man you brought into my shop be?”

“My name is Caleb Widogast. This is quite the shop you have.”

“Am I right to assume this is not just a shopping trip?” Gilmore looked over at Vex and Percy, “I mean no offense by this, but you are a little old to be back adventuring and in need of items from my store.”

Allura spoke up, “It was my idea to come here, actually. Caleb, here, is a friend of mine. He offered to share a spell he created with me, and I figured if we are going to talk about magic, why not see if Gilmore is in town.”

“Creating a spell? That is very impressive for a young wizard. Let’s take this to the back room and get comfortable.” Gilmore gestured to the beaded curtain from which he had emerged from earlier. The group followed Gilmore into the back room, and he motioned for them to take a seat. “Would you care for some tea?” Gilmore asked.

“That would be wonderful,” Allura responded. 

Gilmore walked over to the counter, filled a kettle with water, and set it aside to heat. He sat down on a chair across from Caleb.  
“Now, tell me about this spell you’ve created,” Gilmore prodded. 

“Hold on one moment,” Caleb said. He reached into his bag and pulled out five pieces of amber. He arranged them in a circle on the table and whispered the code word. The spellbook popped out of the amber piece and onto the table. He picked it up, flipped to the latest entry, and sat the book back down on the table.

“This spell is what I call Widogast’s Transmogrification. I should preface this by saying I did not do this all by myself. The spell was started by a mage by the name of Halas. He has been missing since the Age of Arcanum. I found it within the study of Halas, when we were searching for a friend who was trapped. I worked for a long time on finishing the spell that I had found. I needed to finish it. I was able to finish the spell with help from my friend Essek. He is also very talented in the arcane arts. But uhhh, basically the spell is a version of polymorph. It can permanently alter the physical body of a humanoid creature into another type of humanoid body. So you can permanently change races or genders. It is an hour long ritual. You have to encase the person in clay and spread 150 gp worth of gem dust over the clay for it to work. It can only be done once a year though.” 

With a smile upon his face, Gilmore asked, “Have you had the opportunity to cast the spell yet? I would assume so if you are confident it works.”

Caleb let out a small chuckle, “Ja, ja I have cast it. One of the members of our party, Veth, was born a halfling, but she was cursed and turned into a goblin at some point before I had met her. It was for her that I wanted to finish the spell. She was disgusted with being a goblin, and all she wanted was to be herself again. I was able to do that.”

Allura reached out and put her hand on Caleb’s shoulder, “may I take a look at your spellbook?”

“Ja, of course.” Caleb reached over and picked the book off the table and handed it to Allura.

“Thank you.”

While Allura looked over the spellbook, Gilmore brought over the kettle and began to pour tea for everyone. Caleb nodded his head in thanks and took a sip of the tea. 

Vex’ahlia looked over at Caleb, “How long do you plan on staying in Whitestone, Caleb darling? I would love to show you around some more”

“I have about 2 weeks. That is when Jester’s holiday is happening. Now I just have to wait until our boat reaches Rumblecusp. Then I will teleport to them,” Caleb responded.

“Perfect, we have plenty of time then!” Vex smiled. She gasped as an idea popped into her head, “We should do a pub crawl! O Percy, we haven’t gone on a pub crawl in ages”

“That is a wonderful idea,” Percy agreed. “As long as you don’t mind Caleb.”

“Of course, that would be great. I haven’t gone on a pub crawl in a long time,” Caleb answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the end of this chapter and now have a clear path of how I want this story to go. Updates should come soon now that Im done with school until fall.


	4. Chapter 4

They started at a small tavern just down the block from Gilmore’s store. Around the tavern, a couple of other groups of people were drinking and eating. The group sat, hidden away in the corner. Three very important and powerful people, and then there’s Caleb Widogast. 

Caleb took a sip out of his tankard. “I’ve told you quite a bit about myself, but I don’t know much about you two,” Caleb said looking towards Percy and Vex. “All I really know is Allura is good friends with you. And that must mean something.”

Vex’ahlia and Percy shared a look and laughed. Vex set down her ale, “Of course it means something. We’ve known Allura for what, over twenty years now. She has helped us in many a sticky situation.”

“We were in an adventuring party like you are now,” Percy said. “But we have been retired for about twenty years now. We were originally the Super High Intensity Team–the SHITs–but as we started making connections we realized that wasn’t the greatest name to be known as. We changed it to Vox Machina.”

At this point Vex picked back up the explanation, “Our party had seven members. Of course, there was Percy and I. I was our ranger and Percy here invented guns and shot at things.” Caleb let out a small laugh at the mention of guns, remembering the time Veth stole a pistol and later shot Beau with it. “Then there is Keyleth, a half-elven druid who is now the Voice of the Tempest; Pike who is a gnome and cleric of Sarenrae; Grog, a goliath barbarian and best friend of Pike; Scanlan, another gnome and a bard. Scanlan left for a while though and we had Taryon join us. He was an artificer. And finally there was my twin brother Vax’ildan who unfortunately died during battle.”

Vex’ahlia’s face turned somber as she mentioned her twin. Caleb could sense the sadness, but at the same time there was a fondness in the memory of her brother as well. Vex smiled as she began to speak again, “Now, of course I don’t want to talk about our party all night, though I’m sure you are interested in some of our adventures. Percy and I would love to hear more about your party, the Mighty Nein. So, Caleb, you can ask a question about us, then we will ask a question about you.”

Caleb thought for a moment. What could possibly be a good first question? He did not want to start too bold. He wanted something subtle, but at the same time he wanted to get a feel for their vibe: “Ok,” Caleb spoke, “What is the silliest plan you guys ever had?”

“Oh I think it would be when we disguised ourselves as me and my sister.” Percy responded. “We were dealing with dangerous people from my past and for some reason thought it would be a good idea to look like me.”

Vex’ahlia laughed. “That’s a good one, but I personally like when we disguised ourselves as cows and flew through the sky to chase a giant bird that was stealing livestock. It was right after we got kicked off the Council of Tal’dorei,” Caleb smiled at the mention of the council, and Allura sighed, knowing what Caleb’s next question would likely be. Vex continued, “and Percival never got to be a cow because he was too busy sulking in his workshop.”

“So, are you back on the Council of Tal’dorei?” Caleb prodded. Allura glared at Caleb, but he just smiled back at her.

“We were reinstated, yes.” Vex’ahlia answered.

“Interesting. See Allura, some people will answer the questions about the council. Isn’t that amazing!”

Percy and Vex glanced at each other. Confusion covered both of their faces. Percy turned his gaze back to Caleb, “Did you have a reason for asking people about the council?”

“No. We asked Allura about it the first time our group met her, but she wouldn’t answer. With that we began to ask as many people as we could as a joke. You are the first people to actually give me more information,” Caleb answered. 

Vex let out a small chuckle, “I am honored then to be the first to give you information. Now I believe it is our turn for a question. Ok so how about a plan that went way off the rails?”

“Probably when we accidentally stole a pirate ship. We went to go and talk to this guy Marius who was on the ship. The crew saw us and attacked. We fought back, killed almost the whole crew, and then being scared of getting caught, we stole the ship. We then ended up sailing on the ocean for a month or so. We ended up on the pirate island of Darktow, along with another pirate crew. We caused quite the scene, got the captain of the other ship killed, and got banned from the island. We also got stuck in a magical ball and fought a dragon. It was a strange month for sure.” 

The questions continued throughout the night. The group went back and forth, answering questions. Laughing at the strange stories that both adventuring parties experienced. Caleb talked about how they all met and the first time they fought together it was at the circus that Mollymauk and Yasha worked for. He spoke of how they accidentally became the heroes of Xhorhas. Percy and Vex talked about their encounters with the Chroma Conclave, but also stories about how Vex stole a flying broom from an unsuspecting dragonborn.

As more stories were told, more and more ale was being brought to the table. It was no surprise that within an hour or two, the four inhabitants of the table were very drunk. 

Percy took a long sip from his tankard and set it down, “Sooooo, what were you doing before you met the rest of your group?” He asked. The one fact that Percy did not know about Caleb Widogast yet, was that he had absolutely no filter when he was drunk.

Caleb spoke through slightly slurred words, “I did not do much. I was locked up in a sanatorium for eleven years. A woman healed my mind and I found Veth not long after that. Then we found the rest of the Nein. So, nein, I did not do much at all.” 

Caleb, Allura, Percy, and Vex’ahlia continued to drink for the rest of the night. Eventually the group began the trek from the center of town back to the castle. The walk was fairly easy when the sun still shines in the sky and when everyone was sober. Unfortunately, the street was only lit by lanterns and the group was drunk. By the time they reached the castle, everyone was exhausted. Caleb found himself in one of the many spare bedrooms that Whitestone Castle had to offer. He collapsed onto the bed, blissfully unaware of what he had revealed about his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is kind of short, but I hope you enjoy. I'm excited to show you guys where this story will end up.  
> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning: anything to do with Caleb's backstory  
> abuse  
> manipulation

Caleb woke in a room he did not quite recognize. The bed was much more comfortable than any he had slept in lately. There was a pounding in the back of his head and the sunlight streaming in through the window was a little too bright for him. Caleb noticed that he was still in his clothes from the day before and his bag was laying against the wall. From this, he deduced he must have passed out in a guest room of Whitestone Castle, where he had arrived yesterday. The details of last night were blurry inside his head. Caleb could remember that they went to a tavern and drank quite a lot. He knew they exchanged stories as well. The problem though was that he did not remember everything he had told. He hoped that he had not let any secrets of his life slip. 

Caleb pulled himself off of the bed. He changed into a new set of clothes and ran his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame it. He exited the bedroom and began to wander the halls in search of someone he knew. He turned a corner and was met by a young servant woman.

“Ah, good morning Mr. Widogast. I was on my way to fetch you. Lord and Lady De Rollo are waiting for you in the dining room. You can follow me,” She informed Caleb.

“Thank you Miss,” Caleb responded. He followed her down a series of hallways. They ended in front of a large door. The young woman opened the door to reveal Percy, Vex’ahlia, and Allura sitting at a large table. The table was covered in different breakfast meats, fruits, and pastries. 

Vex’ahlia welcomed Caleb and offered him a seat at the table. He sat down next to Allura, and across from him was Vex and next to her, Percy. 

“Good morning, I hope you slept well,” Percy said.  
“Ja, I did,” Caleb responded.

“That’s good.”

The rest of the breakfast was spent in silence. Everyone was very hungry after a long night of drinking, and they wanted to focus on eating rather than conversation. Vex’ahlia kept a careful eye on Caleb during the meal.

Eventually, she asked him a question, “Caleb, I don’t want to intrude, but I was wondering about something you told us last night. You mentioned you spent time in a sanatorium. As I already said I don’t want to intrude, but could you say more about the subject?”

Caleb ran his hand through his hair and sighed, “I said that didn’t I. I suppose it is only fair, especially the more we get to know each other. I am not a good person, and I have done terrible terrible things, and that is why I was in the sanatorium. I know that won’t be enough for you, so I guess I should start at the beginning.” 

Caleb took a long sip from the water glass on the table. It wasn’t the first time Caleb would tell his story to people, but Allura, Percy, and Vex were very different than the Mighty Nein. They had power and influence that his little group could never imagine having. He took a deep breath, hoping that the third time around the story would be easier to tell.

“My name wasn’t always Caleb Widogast. I used to be Bren Aldric Ermendrud. When I was younger, I grew up in a small township outside of Rexxentrum called Blumenthal. My mother’s name was Una. My father’s name was Leofric. Everyone was very excited about me when I was young. I was bright and confident. People used to say that I glided through life and everything just worked for me. As I got older, it became clear that I had a knack for the arcane. Everyone talked about this Soltryce Academy, maybe I would go there someday. The way they do things at that Academy, they don’t take all comers, they look for the diamond in the rough and every couple of years they find one. But when I was a young man, adolescent, really, they found three of us. Another boy and a girl. I studied for a year. I worked so hard. It came easier to me than the other two, but they were also very accomplished. There were other students from other parts of the Empire there, and a little over a year of learning all they had to impart, I met a man named Trent Ikithon.” 

Caleb paused and took another deep breath. His hair had fallen in front of his face, he pushed it back out of the way, and tucked it behind his ears. Caleb locked eyes with Allura and continued, “You met him, Allura, in Rexxentrum, in the throne room. He is the Archmage of Civil Influence for the Cerberus Assembly.” At the mention of this, Caleb noticed the recognition on Allura’s face. “He would occasionally teach at the Academy. After a year of studying in the main school, Trent handpicked all three of us again, and we left the school proper and went with him to a home out in the countryside where he trained us. It was a good time. We believed in the Empire, we were going to keep it strong. He was cruel though.”

Caleb pushed up his sleeves and then unwrapped the bandages that covered his arms. Once finished with one arm, he laid his forearm on the table.

“He experimented on us. He put crystals in our arms. He thought it would make us stronger. Ikithon knew that on its own, residuum was powerful and could replace material components. He wanted to find out what would happen if refined residuum was placed within the skin of a wizard. That was only the beginning though.”

Allura fumed with anger, Vex’ahlia was shocked, and Percy was worried. Most large institutions that used residuum received it from Whitestone. They were the largest distributors of it after all. Percy knew that the sale of residuum to the Assembly most likely began under the Briarwoods, but he also knew that the Assembly was still on the list of buyers now. His heart broke knowing that his town had helped that evil man destroy Caleb’s life.

“He groomed us to follow his every order and obey the crown no matter what. He brought traitors to the Empire, and we tortured and killed them. We went on a trip home when it was almost time for graduation. One night, I awoke and overheard them talking, and went to the stairs and listened to them talk about revolution and tearing the Empire down, and I felt disgraced and shame for my family. My mother and my father, who were so wonderful to me when I was a child, and were so happy for me to go to the Academy and believed in the Empire. I went back to school and told Ikithon what I overheard. I had my final assignment. The three of us went back to Blumenthal. We went to Eodwulf’s house first and watched as he killed his parents. Then we went to Astrid’s house and had dinner with her family. She poisoned them. Then we went to my house. We put a horse cart in front of the door, and I set it on fire. When I heard their screams inside the house, I broke. All of the sudden, I wasn’t sure what I had just done. I lashed out against Astrid and Eodwulf. They took me to an asylum. I broke. I went a little crazy. I don't remember so well what happened to me there. It was quite a number of years. Years later, 11 years, a woman was there, and she, another patient, put hands on me, and she took the clouds away. She took it all away, and not just my madness, but the fake memories that Ikithon put in my head of my parents. Everything was clear. I pretended like nothing had changed for a couple of weeks, planning my escape. I killed one of Ikithon’s men that he had stationed at the sanatorium to keep guard. I took this.” Caleb reached into his shirt and pulled out the pendant. “This has kept me hidden for a long time. Prevents any scrying eyes. I ran for a long time. I learned that dirt and a change of name can keep you in the shadows more than any other disguise. I ran for a while before I met Veth. Then we met the rest of the Nein. The rest is history.” Caleb began to wipe the tears that streamed down his face. 

Allura, who could barely keep her anger hidden, was the first to speak up, “That bastard! I hated the way he was looking at you during the meeting, I knew something was off with that man. He broke so many rules of the Arcana Pansophical. I’m so sorry for what he put you through Caleb.”

“But I wanted–” Caleb began, but he was quickly cut off by Vex.

“Don’t you dare say that it was your fault. That man tricked you. He tortured you. He manipulated a young mind to suit his needs. If anyone is to blame here it is Ikithon.”

“You don’t understand. I am a bad person. You can’t just forgive me for what I have done,” Caleb explained.

“If we are using your reasoning,” Percy said, “then everyone here with you right now is also a bad person. Hell, I’m probably worse than just a bad person. But you are not a bad person, and neither are we. And now I look forward to planning my trip to the Cerberus Assembly to inform them that all trade with Whitestone will end immediately.”

“And I, as a member of the Arcana Pansophical, will demand to know why they allow a teacher to directly ignore the laws we have set in place.” 

Vex’ahlia grinned, “and we will do this whether you want us to or not. We have defeated a god and Trent Ikithon is no god.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it begins! A lot of Caleb's backstory dialogue is taken directly from the show, ep 18 and 48. Credit to Liam O'brien for that.
> 
> Follow me:  
> @friedtoffee on tiktok/twitter


	6. Chapter 6

Caleb did not understand how Percy and Vex would be willing to drop everything in order to help him. Most people would try their hardest to ignore any member of the Mighty Nein. They were not exactly well liked by anyone. It was strange to have help be offered to him. He felt like any moment he would wake up and start the day over. 

“Well, we are going to have a plan in order for this to succeed,” Percy’s comment pulled Caleb out of his head. 

“Should we ask anyone else for extra help?” Vex suggested. 

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Percy explained, “less is more right now. We should probably talk to Tary though, it might affect him.”

“Ah that is true,” Vex responded, “he does live in the empire while the rest of us are based in Tal’dorei.”

They continued back and forth, bouncing ideas around, and attempted to come up with a solid plan. It took several hours and several snack breaks, but they hoped they had a plan that would work. The success of the plan relied heavily on the success of the first step, which was to inform the Soltryce Academy of the end of trade with Whitestone. If this part of the plan were to fail, well Caleb wasn’t quite sure what they would do, but if he knew anything about himself and a couple of ex-adventurers, they could improvise. They had decided that they would leave for Rexxentrum in the morning so that they were well rested. 

As Caleb returned to his room, Jester’s voice popped into his head.  _ Hi Caleb! I hope you’re having fun with Allura. Ask her who is on the Council of Tal’dorei for us please. We fought a giant- _ Jester’s ramblings was cut from the spell. Caleb took a second to formulate his response.  _ I am good and so is Allura. What did you fight? You got cut off. I met a council member.  _

Caleb ended his response with words to spare. He wasn’t like Jester who desperately uses every word available in the sending spell. Before Caleb could take another step, another sending spell reached him.  _ We fought a dragon turtle and then I turned it into a slug and we got away. Who did you meet on the Council of- _

Caleb laughed. Of course she used polymorph against a giant turtle, what other spells would she use.  _ I’m happy you got away. We wouldn’t want to wreck the Balleater. I’m not telling you who I met.  _

He finished his response to Jester and began to get ready for sleep. Caleb brought Frumpkin out and set the cat on the bed. He then set the silver wire against the door and windows for the alarm spell. He knew that the spell probably wasn’t necessary, but it had become a habit for Caleb, no matter where he was spending the night. Caleb sat on the bed, sent a few globules of light into the air, and pulled out his spellbook. He began to read over his spells, choosing what he might need for the next day. After preparing his spells, Caleb tucked his book away and got under the sheets of the bed. Caleb fell asleep quickly.

Caleb woke up early the next morning. He switched out his coat from the one he got in Xhorhas to an older coat from the Empire. The war was technically over, but chances were that news had not reached the entirety of Rexxentrum. He began to make his way to the kitchen, remembering the path from the morning before. As he walked, Caleb combed through his hair with his fingers in an attempt to tame the tangles that formed during the night. 

Caleb met up with Percy, Vex, and Allura in the dining room for a quick breakfast. Throughout the meal, they spoke of the plan for the day. Making sure that everything was in place and confirming that they all agreed on the plan. 

After eating, they made their way down the stairs of the castle to Percy’s workshop. The workshop was a strange sight for Caleb. He was used to academic studies and libraries full of books. Caleb could see similarities between Essek’s study and Percy’s workshop. Both were filled with papers and plans and ramblings, but Essek’s study was focused on spells and Percy’s was focused on mechanics. Caleb pulled out his chalks and began to draw the teleportation circle on the open space on the floor. Caleb placed the final line of the circle, and it flashed with magical energy. 

“Now!” Caleb shouted. Everyone rushed into the circle, and suddenly they appeared in the center of a new room. From the place they stood, they were surrounded by many other doors. Each door was labeled with a different location: Westrunn, Vasselheim, Port Damali, and Zadash. Once the group arrived, a half-orc man, who was sitting in the corner of the room, stood and approached the new arrivals.

“Who are you and what is your business here?” he asked.

Caleb held both of his hands in the air, “My name is Caleb Widogast. I am allowed to use the circle as a guest of Expositor Beauregard Lionnett. My companions here are Lady Allura Vysoren of Tal’dorei and Lord and Lady De Rolo of Whitestone.”

“Ah, I remember you,” the half-orc man said, “You and your group came through not that long ago. If I remember correctly, you are still banned from the Rexxentrum Archive.”

Once the half-orc spoke, Caleb immediately recognized the man as Archivist Kathedoc, the man the Mighty Nein had bothered not long before, “Again, sorry about that. We will be going now. Goodbye.” Caleb spoke quickly and walked off into the library of the Cobalt Soul. Allura and the De Rolos followed behind. 

As they made their way towards the exit of the building, Vex pulled up next to Caleb, “So I’m intrigued. How’d you manage to get banned from the Cobalt Soul?”

Caleb sighed, “It’s been a long month and honestly, the fact that I’m technically banned slipped my keen mind. But to answer your question, we came through on horses and then used as many circles as possible so I could commit them to memory. That way it would become easier for us to travel long distances.” Vex’ahlia smiled at Caleb’s response. 

They exited the grand building that is the Cobalt Soul. Caleb took a quick moment to orientate himself, and then quickly began to lead the group to the Soltryce Academy. He kept a careful lookout as they walked and asked everyone else to do the same. Caleb did not want to be recognized, nor did he want anyone to catch onto the plan before it could even begin.

Caleb guided the group from the Cobalt Soul northeast towards the Shimmer Ward. Once the group reached the Shimmer Ward, Caleb began to lead them to the gates of the Soltryce Academy. There, they would complete the first official step of their plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Chapter! It's kinda short, but I'm glad I got it done. I had a lot of inspiration after I finished my dnd session today. It was a new campaign and we played for almost 5 hours. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Is it Thursday yet?
> 
> follow me:  
> @friedtoffee on tiktok/twitter


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning: description of a panic attack

The group found themselves in the northwest area of the Shimmer Ward in front of the large gates to the Academy. The marble towers reached far into the sky and were visible from most places in the city. A crownsguard posted at the gate approached the group. 

“Do you need anything?” he asked.

Allura stepped forward, “I am Arcanist Allura Vysoren of Tal’dorei and these are my companions. We seek an immediate audience with Headmaster Zivan Margolin.” She spoke with authority, lacing her voice with as much persuasion as possible.

“Do you have an appointment with the headmaster?” the crownsguard demanded. 

“We do not,” Percy responded, “but he will want to meet with us when he hears that the Academy’s trade with Whitestone depends on this meeting.”

The guard sighed. Caleb, Allura, Percy, and Vex watched from outside of the gate as he turned around and gestured for another guard to watch the group at the gate. The first guard continued into the courtyard to ask someone to convey the message that Percy gave to Zivan Margolin. 

They waited for a couple minutes in silence for the messenger to return. The messenger returned from the Headmaster’s office and whispered something to the guard, who walked back over to the gate. The guard motioned for the other to return to his post. 

“You may enter,” the guard said as he opened the gate, “Clint here will escort you to Headmaster Zivan Margolin.” He gestured to the messenger from before.

The group followed Clint through the well kept courtyard and into one of the large ivory towers. He led them all the way to the top of the tower, knocked on the door, opened it, and turned around and walked away.

In the room, sat an older human man behind a large wooden desk, covered in neat stacks of paper and books. He was bald with a short grey beard. He wore long red robes with golden accents. He grinned as the group entered the room, “What do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Zivan asked. He drew out the question, his voice dripping with malice. He chuckled, “Oh forgive my manners, I am Headmaster Zivan Margolin, although you must already know that, and who might you be?” His eyes locked onto Caleb’s and his smile grew a little larger. 

Caleb felt his breath stop the moment Zivan Margolin made eye contact. He had never worked with Zivan Margolin directly during his time at the Academy, but he knew the Headmaster knew about Ikithon’s program and his students. There was no doubt that he knew about everything that happened when Caleb was Bren, and no doubt that he knew that Bren failed at graduation. The man who sat in front of him could spill all of his secrets, and Zivan Margolin knew that Caleb knew that.

Percy, however, was much calmer than Caleb. He had hidden his anger behind an obviously fake smile, “I am Lord Percival Frederickstein von Mussel Klossowski de Rolo the Third of Whitestone. This is my wife,” he pointed to Vex, “Lady Vex’ahlia de Rolo, Baroness of the First House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt.” 

Allura stepped forward, bringing Caleb along with her. “I am Lady Allura Vysoren of Tal’dorei and this is a good friend of mine, Caleb Widogast.” Caleb stayed quiet and kept a careful watch on the Headmaster. 

“Well, it is very nice to meet you all. May I ask what exactly your business is here. The boy said something about trade with Whitestone. Care to elaborate?” Zivan asked.

“Effective immediately,” Percy began, “all trade between Whitestone and the Soltryce Academy is cancelled.”

Zivan huffed, “May I ask what brought along this decision? Or why you could not just simply send a letter? Surely that would have been easier than traveling all the way here.”

“Unfortunately, we are not allowed to disclose the reasoning behind Whitestone’s decision to cancel trade. For why we came here directly? Well, let’s just say our little group has some other business to deal with in Rexxentrum. I bid you a good day.” Percy turned around and walked straight out of the office. Vex’ahlia, Caleb, and Allura followed right behind Percy, leaving Zivan Margolin in a state of shock.

The world blurred around Caleb as he walked back down through the tower and through the courtyard of the Academy. His vision focused directly in front of him onto Vex’ahlia’s back. He could only hear the sound of his own breaths. There were no cheerful jeers from students or birds chirping, only his breath. His thumb went from pinky to pointer, pushing down each finger until the joint cracked. He repeated the action with his left hand. Caleb could feel his heartbeat as it creeped up through his body towards his head, but it got caught in his throat. 

They had reached the gate, and the crownsguard from before opened the gate and let them out off the grounds. Exiting the Academy released some of the tension that the group was holding. The first step of their grand plan was complete, now it was time to move onto step two. Percy turned the corner and led them to an area where they could speak freely.

Once they stopped, Vex turned around and saw Caleb’s paler than usual face, “Caleb, dear are you alright?”

Caleb squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and then opened them, “Ja, ja, I’m good,” He was running his fingers through his long hair. He pushed the ends into a ball and released it.

“Are you sure about that?” Allura placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Ja,” he paused. Vex glared at him, “No. It’s. . . it’s been a long time. He recognized me. Not now me, but current me as an older version of Bren. He knows everything that Trent Ikithon has ever done and everything he is currently doing.”

“Oh Caleb,” Allura said, “Do you need more time before we continue? We don’t have to continue right away. We will wait for as long as you need.”

Caleb took a deep breath, “No, we don’t need to wait. I’ve waited long enough to do this already. Let’s go.” He wiped his sweaty hands on his long coat. 

Caleb began to lead Allura, Vex, and Percy further east in the Shimmer Ward, towards the Candles. Allura was the only one, besides Caleb, to have traveled to Rexxentrum before. She was already accustomed to the lavish lifestyle of the inhabitants of the Shimmer Ward. To Percy and Vex’ahlia, however, it was a subtle shock. They had experienced the Cloudtop District in Emon, but it could not begin to compare to the Shimmer Ward, especially when they came closer to the Candles. Each building seemed to be in competition with the others. The Candles were no exception. Eight staggering towers, each with varying intricate designs, surrounding the massive stone Castle Ungebroch. Every garden they passed was carefully taken care of, not one flower or blade of grass was out of place. 

Caleb led them towards one of the less extravagant towers. It was still beautiful and very impressive, it was just much simpler. Surrounding the tower were multiple manors. Caleb slowed down as they passed a manor made from pale wood with dark window frames. The 31st Woadstone Manor, Astrid’s home. He stared at the door for a moment and then continued on. They had a plan and he could not stray from it. 

Eventually, Caleb found himself in front of a large wooden door at the entrance to Trent Ikithon’s tower. With nods of approval from Allura, Percy, and Vex, Caleb lifted his fist and knocked hard on the door. A short moment passed in silence before a young woman opened the door.

“I’m sorry,” she spoke in a soft, reserved voice, “Master Ikithon is not home at the moment, nor is he expecting any guests. Do you have a message for him?” She looked at Caleb who stood in front, and then she tilted to the side to gain a better look at Allura, Percy, and Vex. She looked confused as Caleb was still dressed as an adventurer and did not fit in with the rest of the group he was with. 

Caleb cleared his throat to catch the woman’s attention, “Could you tell him that. . . Please tell Master Ikithon that Bren is here and wishes to speak with him as soon as possible.”

“I will relay the message. Please wait here.” She closed the door, leaving the group outside to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's thursday! I'm having so much inspiration and am just cranking out chapters. Or its the fact that I now own a laptop so I can write more often. Also Zivan Margolin is canonically the headmaster of the Soltryce Academy, but only his name is mentioned so I took creative liberties and made him a terrible person and I hate him so much.
> 
> follow me:  
> @friedtoffee on tiktok/twitter


	8. Chapter 8

Caleb took a step back from the door and took a deep breath. Allura reached out and grabbed hold of Caleb’s hand. She gave it a quick squeeze of assurance, and released it quickly. 

Vex’ahlia moved up to Caleb’s shoulder. She leaned in close, “Are you sure about this? We can leave right now if you aren’t ok.”

Caleb nodded, “I’m good. We can’t turn back now.”

They waited for the rest of the time in silence. He stared at the door, waiting for it to open. A minute passed, two, three, four, five minutes. Caleb kept exact count in his head, counting each second to distract him from the coming event. The door swung open revealing the servant girl from before. 

“Master Ikithon will see you now,” she said, “Follow me please.”

Caleb entered first with everyone else following behind him. They walked through familiar hallways. Not much had changed since the last time Caleb was in Ikithon’s tower sixteen years ago. There were a couple new paintings, a different vase on a table, but besides that it was exactly the same. The servant led them up a series of staircases and eventually to a very familiar door. She knocked, nodded her head, and turned around to leave. 

“Come in,” said the voice from behind the door. 

Caleb turned to take a quick look at his companions. They each smiled at him and gave him a nod of reassurance. Caleb took a deep breath, straightened out his shirt and jacket, and opened the door. 

Trent Ikithon sat at his desk and looked up when the door opened. When Ikithon saw Caleb, he grinned. Ikithon glanced over at Caleb’s companions. His grin faltered for a second when he saw that Caleb was not alone. It quickly came back, as he figured out a silent plot in his head. 

Ikithon focused back onto Caleb, “It is good to see you again, Bren,” He paused and searched for a reaction from the people in the room. He received no looks of surprise, only scowls from Vex and Percy. “Especially after such a short period of time. It is good to see you too, Lady Allura. And please forgive me, but I do not know who your companions are.” 

Percy cleared his throat, “First of all, I would appreciate it if you could use the correct name when addressing our friend here. His name is not Bren, his name is Caleb Widogast. As for my name, I am Lord Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the Third of Whitestone, and this is my wife, Lady Vex’ahlia de Rolo, Baroness of the First House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt.”

Ikithon’s eyes widened at the mention of Whitestone, “Whitestone you say. I’ve done business with your city before,” Ikithon smiled at Caleb, “You’ve made some interesting allies since we last met.” 

“Well I regret to inform you that all business between Whitestone and the Cerberus Assembly is over. Especially the trade of residuum.” Percy explained.

Trent Ikithon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He chuckled, “May I ask what brought this decision along, or why  _ Bren _ is involved with this decision?”

Caleb kept staring at Ikithon with tears forming in his eyes. He could not say anything. The face of his former mentor triggered old memories of Caleb’s days at the Academy. He remembered late nights studying with Astrid and Eodwulf. The first time they were approached by Ikithon. The first time he felt the crystals being forced into his arm. The pain. Memories flashed in his brain. Everytime Ikithon would say Bren, Caleb felt as if he was stuck back in the Sanatorium, that all his time with the Mighty Nein was erased. 

Allura placed her hand on Caleb’s back to comfort him and remind him that he was not alone. She looked at Ikithon and spoke, “Don’t pretend you don’t know why we are here. Or even why Caleb is here. I–we–know what you have done! It is unacceptable.” Allura was now leaning over the desk, staring Ikithon right in the eyes and gripping the edge. 

Ikithon moved his hands below his desk and began to form the somatic components for a spell. He stared right back at Allura, “I suggest-”

Allura sent off a counterspell. Her face lit up with fury, “Don’t you dare try to compel me using magic!” Allura shouted. 

Percy rested his hand on his holster for a moment, then he pulled out his pistol. He looked at it while he spoke, “I haven’t used this on someone in a very long time, but I created guns and I’m a very, very good shot.” He glanced up at Ikithon and smiled. 

“And the same with me dear,” Vex’ahlia reached back and pulled out Fenthras. “You hold no more power than us. We killed the Chroma Conclave. We killed Vecna. Do you really think you are more powerful than them?” She paused to give Ikithon a moment to think. 

Ikithon stood up. “You paint yourselves to be good and righteous, yet you associate with  _ Bren Aldric Ermendrud.  _ Has he told everything? How he is a cold blooded killer? How he murdered his parents when he was only seventeen?”

“You think that we don’t know anything, do you? I’ll have you know that we know how you manipulated children to serve as your own personal experiments. How you tortured Caleb and countless other bright children. How you made him believe that his parents were traitors. You convinced him that murder was the path to peace! What do you have to say for yourself?” Vex berated Ikithon. 

“All lies, I tell you” Ikithon attempted to explain, “They wanted to do everything that I asked.  _ Bren _ would do anything to please me. He was eager to kill. Isn’t that true  _ Bren _ ?”

Tears were streaming down Caleb’s face. He had tried to hold them back, but the confrontation was too much, “I may have then, but my head was filled with false memories and ideas.  _ Your _ false ideals. It was not me who wanted to kill my parents. It was you! I spent years thinking it was all my fault, but guess what? I am not Bren Aldric Ermendrud. I am Caleb Widogast and I know the truth now. I know who I am and I know exactly who you are.” 

“Do you now? Are you no longer my bright Bren? Am I no longer your mentor, your teacher? Wouldn't it be nice to forget this ever happened? We could go back to those days. You could be with Astrid and Eodwulf again. I know they would appreciate it. Isn’t that what you want? To be happy again?”

“I am happy now. I have friends, good friends. I don't need you again. I don’t need Astrid and Eodwulf. I’m better off with real happiness instead of whatever fake feelings you put in my head.”

“It’s not all about happiness Bren. You could be so much more powerful. Imagine how strong you would be if you didn’t fail your graduation. You had to start over when you left my care. I can bring you up to speed.”

“No! You can’t. Your little experiments do nothing. I can grow better without your help. That’s why I have Allura to help me.” Caleb turned and looked at Allura for a moment before looking back at Ikithon, “And Yussa Errenis, and Essek Thyless, and Shaun Gilmore. They are good people, unlike you.” 

A knock at the door stopped the argument. The door swung open to reveal an older elven man with long white hair and deep blue robes. “Trent is everything alright in here-” He paused when he noticed the company within the room, “Ah, Lady Allura and Mr. Widogast. A surprise to see you here.” 

Caleb turned to look at the man. He wiped the tears off his face, “Ludinus Da’leth, a surprise for us as well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhh, this took forever to write but i hope you enjoy! ~things are getting heated~
> 
> check me out other places :)  
> https://linktr.ee/friedtoffee


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning:  
> toxic relationships and manipulation

Trent Ikithon looked towards Ludinus Da’leth who had just entered the room, “Ludinus, what are you doing here?” he asked. 

“I was informed that a group of unknown individuals were seen within the Candles and had come to your home. I decided that it would be a good idea to check in on you. When I heard raised voices, I came as quickly as I could. I would have been less worried if I had known Mr. Widogast and Lady Allura were part of the group.” Da’leth answered.

Ikithon plastered his fake smile back on his face, “We were just having a friendly discussion about trade with Whitestone. Isn’t that right?”

Percy took a step forward in order to gain the attention of Ludinus, “Yes, trade with Whitestone was indeed one of the topics of our discussion. It was exactly what we came here to discuss, however.”

Ludinus Da’leth examined Percy and Vex. He furrowed his eyebrows, “I’m sorry, I don’t know you. Who are you?”

“Oh yes. I am Lord Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the Third of Whitestone and this here is my wife Lady Vex’ahlia, Baroness of the First House of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Grey Hunt.” Percy rattled off his title as usual. At times like this, being titled came in handy, and Percy rather enjoyed putting people in their place, “I’m sure now you understand why we were discussing trade with Whitestone.”

Ludinus Da’leth walked straight past the group and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Ikithon’s desk. He crossed his legs and looked at everyone in the room. He clapped his hands together, “If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to stay for these trade talks.” He smiled as he spoke. Almost as if every word meant something different.

Percy looked at Caleb for an answer. Caleb nodded his head. It would do no more harm to have Da’leth there with them. “We do not mind, as long as it’s okay with Master Ikithon.”

“Yes. I am fine with that,” Ikithon looked at Da’leth as a smile creeped back across his face. He sat down in the large chair behind his desk.

The remaining group of current and ex adventurers stayed standing. Percy took a step forward and placed his hands on the back of the empty chair. He cleared his throat, “As we were saying, Whitestone is looking to terminate all trade with the Cerberus Assembly and its members. The trade did not begin under my family’s rule and I look to sever the de Rolo’s connection with the Assembly.” Percy commanded the room when he spoke. He chose every word with intent to convey exactly what he wanted. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Ludinus Da’leth seemed intrigued. His eyebrow cocked and he sported the same sickly grin as Ikithon, “I see,” he said, “and may I ask why you intend to sever your family’s connection with the Assembly?” Da’leth didn’t need to ask the question. He knew the answer and so did Ikithon. He just wanted to hear him say it. Besides, the Assembly could source their residuum from elsewhere. This little plot to undermine the Assembly by stopping trade would not affect them at all. 

“Actually, the answer to your question is the other reason why we are here as a group.” Allura said, “You see, my dear friend Caleb here was visiting me in Whitestone with some information about a spell when he told us the most interesting story”

Ikithon let out a small chuckle, “Oh did he now?” Venom flowed through his words. He adjusted himself in his seat to gain a better view of Caleb, who was being partially blocked by Vex and Allura. 

Caleb looked up and locked eyes with Ikithon, “I did.” Caleb’s eyes began to tear up again. He had kept his gaze averted for as long as he could. The more times Caleb encountered Ikithon, the easier it became to look him in the eyes, but the pain never lessened.

Ikithon did not remove his eyes from Caleb as he spoke again, “Ludinus, do you know who Caleb Widogast really is?”

“I’m sure you have told me before, but please jog my memory,” Ludinus responded.

Ikithon smiled and continued to stare into Caleb’s eyes, “You see, Caleb Widogast is not real. He is really Bren Aldric Ermendrud, one of my old students. I thought he was going to be a great asset for the Assembly and the Empire. I was wrong. He is a disgrace to the Soltyrce Academy and our Empire. He couldn’t even graduate. Bren is fragile and will break easily. He won’t protect our gracious Empire. Look at him now. He sided with the Dynasty and now he’s gaining allies from Tal’dorei. Pathetic. He is a sad excuse for a wizard. I’m ashamed that I taught him.” 

Tears were once again streaming down Caleb’s cheeks. Caleb wiped away what he could, but the tears kept falling. He pushed Vex and Allura aside and made his way towards Ikithon. He planted his feet right at the edge of the large desk, “I am not Bren anymore,” Caleb’s voice was hoarse and he struggled to get any words out, “He and I are not the same person. The actions of Bren were a direct result of your own mind. He was a result of your manipulation. You twisted the mind of an innocent boy. You put venom in his veins. I am stronger and more powerful than Bren ever was. I, Caleb Widogast, will not be tempted by your silly mind games. And I’m here to make sure no one else has to go through what you put Bren through.” 

Ludinus just watched as Caleb released all his anger on Ikithon. He kept the same grin on his face the whole time. Ludinus crossed his leg over the other and relaxed back into his seat, “Now this is all very entertaining,” As he spoke, a hint of a small laugh appeared in between words, “but what are you and your little group going to do to stop anything that happens within the Assembly. You don’t have that power.” Ludinus believed that he held the upper hand in this conflict. He couldn’t be more wrong. 

Vex’ahlia couldn’t help but laugh at Ludinus’s final comment, “We don’t have power you say? That’s funny, cause I believe the one thing that we do have is power. We defeated the Chroma Conclave and we banished Vecna from this plane. And you think we don’t have the power to tear down corruption within your little magic group?” 

“I do not know of this corruption you speak of. The Cerberus Assembly is an honest and true organization.” Ludinus pretended to be completely oblivious to the obvious corruption. 

Allura had had enough of Ludinus’s little games. She took a deep breath to prepare for her assault, “Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for you two, you seem to be unaware that I am a guide of the Arcana Pansophical.” She paused for a moment and watched as both Ludinus’s and Ikithon’s eyes widened with fear, “Now if you do not remember, the use of memory altering magic is illegal in the eyes of the Arcana Pansophical. Which I believe makes you,” She turned to face Ikithon, “Trent Ikithon, a criminal. And I am in charge of reporting you to the Pansophical.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its getting intense! i hope you liked the chapter. everytime i write for this i want to punch anyone from the assembly in the face, multiple times. :)
> 
> follow me places:  
> https://linktr.ee/friedtoffee


	10. Chapter 10

Allura pushed forward closer to Ikithon with every word of her threat until she was directly between Ikithon and Da’leth. She gripped her staff even tighter. Ikithon reached into his robe and pulled a handful of items out. He kept them hidden as he quickly moved his hands and began muttering under his breath. Allura groaned as he attempted to cast. She slammed her staff onto the ground. The green orb on top of the staff glowed as she released a counterspell to avoid Ikithon’s feeblemind spell. 

Ludinus watched as Ikithon and Allura fired spells at each other. Four against two were not good odds. He had to stop them as quickly as possible. He pulled out a small piece of iron and began to cast hold person. Out of the corner of his eye, Caleb noticed Da’leth begin to draw the arcane symbols in the air. Caleb sent a counterspell towards Da’leth and the spell faded. 

Percy and Vex were stunned for a moment as the wizards began to cast at each other. Nothing had taken hold yet. They looked at each other and surveyed the room. Both of them were better in larger spaces. It would be hard for them to shoot accurately in such a small area. Percy holstered his pistol and reached for his shortsword instead. Vex’ahlia looked around once more and backed away into a corner where she could easily get a shot if she needed to. She notched an arrow and waited. This was not their fight, but if needed, they were ready.

Allura stared at Ikithon, “That was not a good idea,” the orb on her staff glowed again as she muttered arcane words and released a hold person spell at Ikithon and Da’leth. She watched as Ikithon froze in his position. He tried to speak, but he was paralyzed. Da’leth shrugged off the effects of the spell. 

With Da’leth free from the hold person spell, he raised his and eight different colored rays burst out. A yellow ray hit Allura right in the chest and electricity ran through her body. She groaned as the painful lightning traveled within her. Caleb gets hit with an orange ray and the ray began to eat through Caleb’s shirt. He braced against the acid and attempted to focus on what spell he would cast next. Another yellow ray shot towards Percy. He began to dodge away, but the ray hit him in the arm. Vex’ahlia stepped out of the way of an orange ray, but didn’t notice as a blue ray was also heading straight towards her. Cold energy flooded into Vex’s body as the ray hit her.

Caleb shrugged off the pain from Da’leth’s spell and pulled out a string covered in phosphorus. He laced his fingers into the string and formed it into a cat’s cradle. He slammed the cradle on the ground as fire streaked toward Ikithon and Da’leth. The fire burst into a column of flame surrounding both of his targets. Caleb smiled. There was something about seeing Ikithon burning in flames that comforted him. He breathed heavily through his smile. 

Percy noticed an opening and rushed up to Ikithon and took three swipes at him. Each hit carved into Ikithon. Blood sprayed out and sizzled as it hit the remaining flames. He backed up out of the way. 

Vex noticed as Caleb struggled against the pain from Da’leth’s spell. She hopped down from her post and ran over to Caleb. She touched his shoulder and casted cure wounds. He took a deep breath as his acid wound began to close up. Caleb’s focus sharpened as Vex helped heal him. 

Seeing Ikithon hurting, and knowing that Caleb would want the last hit, Allura turned her focus to Ludinus Da’leth. She quickly weighted her options and dropped concentration on the hold person spell as she sent a witch bolt at Da’leth. The crackling blue energy exited her staff and connected to Da’leth. 

Finally free from the hold person spell, Ikithon looked turned Caleb, “Really Bren,” he said through deep breaths, “you don’t want to hurt me.” Ikithon traced a symbol in the air as he spoke. Caleb felt Ikithon’s domination attempt to take hold in his brain. Caleb thought of his friends on their way to Rumblecusp, he thought of his parents, and he thought of how he wanted no one else to be under Ikithon’s control. 

Caleb shrugged off the domination, “That’s where you are wrong, “ Caleb shouted, “I do want to hurt you.” Caleb reached into his pocket and pulled out a crystal prism that Essek gave him. He pushed into forward as arcane energy pulsed outward towards Ikithon. The spell lifted Ikithon into the air for a moment before the gravity gained strength and crushed Ikithon. Caleb dropped his hand, and Ikithon’s limp body fell to the ground. Caleb stared at Ikithon on the ground as blood began to seep into the carpet. 

Suddenly, Jester’s voice popped into Caleb’s head  _ “Hi Caleb! How are you doing? Are you having fun? We just got to Rumblecusp and there seems to be a village already here! How-” _ The spell cut Jester off. 

_ “Not a good time Jester” _ Caleb quickly responded. He kept staring at the now dead Trent Ikithon on the ground. This was a moment he had been envisioning for a long time. He definitely did not think this would be how it happened. He wasn’t with the Mighty Nein which was his plan since he met them. Ikithon was gone now, but what about the rest of the Assembly? Caleb knew that Ikithon wasn’t the only corrupt member of the Assembly, and this certainly was not the end of the fight. Would someone else start taking in vulnerable young students and teach them to be assassins? Most likely. Caleb stumbled backwards into one of the chairs, still in shock and he sat down. Caleb kept staring at Ikithon’s body.

Allura dropped the witch bolt spell that connected her staff to Da’leth. He took a deep sigh of relief and stepped backwards and into a defensive stance. Allura stepped closer, following every movement of Ludinus Da’leth, “Now, can we finish this conversation as civilized people?” She asked. Allura ran her hands over her robes to straighten them out. 

Ludinus Da’leth looked down at the crushed body of Trent Ikithon and then looked back at Allura, “If you don’t mind. I would rather not turn out like Trent here,” Ludinus looked at Trent again. Then, he looked over at Caleb, “That was quite an impressive spell Mr. Widogast.”

Caleb did not answer. He stayed still and just kept staring at the floor. As he blinked, tears began to fall down his face. He smiled a little and let out a nervous laugh. Caleb sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. The conversation continued between Allura and Ludinus, but Caleb did not pay attention. He just sat there, replaying the moment over and over again in his head. 

Percy looked around the room for a moment. He walked over a wall and pulled one of the tapestries down and threw it over Ikithon’s dead body. Percy joined up with Allura, and Vex followed along. 

“I will launch an official investigation into the Cerberus Assembly through the Arcana Pansophical. I imagine you can take care of this,” Allura gestured to Ikithon, “while I go through the official channels. And don’t think you can hide from us or lie to us. We will come back with more people if needed. Understand?” Allura explained.

Ludinus scoffed, “I understand. Now I suggest you leave this tower and Rexxentrum before I decide I don’t want to be civilized anymore.”

Allura nodded, “Very well then,” she turned and walked to Caleb. She rubbed Caleb’s shoulder and he looked up at her, “come on, let’s go.” Caleb nodded and followed Allura out the door. 

Once in the hallway, Allura offered her hands to everyone and they all joined hands in a circle. Allura muttered a few words and teleported the group back to Whitestone castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so first off, this chapter is where i bent caleb's level a little.   
> the spell that killed ikithon was reality break (8th level) from egtw aka the "fold person" spell. it did 56 points of dmg bringing trent to -25 hp. feel free to ask any other questions about combat. i rolled for most things and rolled very bad on all saves. because i didnt actually have character sheets rolls were aproximated.   
> i did roll a nat 1 for percy's initiative though and that was kinda funny


	11. Chapter 11

With a sudden gust of arcane energy, the group was suddenly teleported from the hallway in Ikithon’s tower to the front entrance of Whitestone castle. A couple hushed voices could be heard from rooms off the hallway. Everyone took a deep breath and stood in silence for a moment. Everyone, except for Caleb who was looking straight forward, looked at eachother.

Percy acknowledged the group, “I could use a drink. How about you?” He turned back around and began to make his way down the long hallway. 

Caleb squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to bring himself back to reality. He closed his hands into fists and held tightly, feeling the joints pop. He took a deep breath as his mind pulled into the current moment and processed Percy’s question. He nodded, unable to do much else at the moment, and began to follow Percy—who had stopped a quarter of the way down when he realized no one followed him right away. Allura and Vex followed behind Caleb.

Percy walked right past the dining room and to a smaller wooden door to its left. The same young servant who guided Caleb to the dining room not long ago was at the sink washing a couple of dishes. As they entered the kitchen, she turned around, face red with embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were coming back right now. I can leave if you need me to,” She said, “or I can make you something? If that’s what you need.” Her words were fast and unsure.

Percy chuckled, “You are perfectly fine, Sophia. How about you take the rest of the night off. We are just going to have a couple of drinks. The dishes can wait until later.”

Sophia smiled with relief, “Thank you so much,” she said before exiting the kitchen as fast as she could. 

Percy opened a cabinet and pulled out a bottle. He inspected it for a moment before he popped the top and took a swig. He handed it off to Caleb. Caleb also took a swig and handed it to Vex, who did the same thing and handed the bottle to Allura. They sat in silence for a couple minutes, continuing to pass the bottle around.

With the bottle in his hand, Caleb took a long sip. His eyes darted between his companions as he decided to make the first move, “we really just did that, didn’t we?” 

Allura reached over and grabbed the bottle out of Caleb’s hand, “We did.” She took a swig, “How are you feeling right now?”

Caleb took a deep breath, “To be honest, I have no idea. Everything happened so quickly, its still hard to believe that he is actually dead. And that I killed him. I’ve spent years fantasizing how I would get my revenge and I never imagined that this would be it. I thought maybe I would use his own lessons against him. I could cause so much pain to him, but it still wouldn’t be equal to what he did to me. Nothing can fix what happened to me. For the longest time I thought I was going to have to do it alone.” He looked around at everyone with a sad smile, “I’m happy I didn’t have to do it alone. That I was with you guys. I- I don’t think I would have walked out of there if I was alone. And I have to thank you for that.”

“Caleb,” Allura said softly, “you know you never have to do anything alone. Especially since you have the Mighty Nein, and now you have us,” she gestured to Percy and Vex, “You know the Nein would never let you face that man alone. Speaking of the Nein, do they know that you went to face Ikithon?”

“No,” Caleb whispered. Allura sighed, but before she could respond, Caleb continued, “I couldn’t. Everyone is so focused on Jester and Travelercon, and Jester’s been planning this forever. I just couldn’t have them worrying about me. They needed to focus on planning a cult get together.”

Allura looked confused, “I’m sorry, did you say cult? I wasn’t aware Jester was in a cult.”

“I mean if you find out your god isn’t really a god, and has never been, then its not religion, its a cult.” Caleb explained.

“What do you mean by ‘your god isn’t really a god’? I feel like that’s something you should know when you start worshipping.” Percy grabbed the bottle out of Allura’s hand as he spoke. 

“Jester has known the Traveler for most of her life. They met when she was a little girl. He never told her he was a god, but she believed he was. She gained healing magic, like many other clerics of gods, so it all made sense. But, the Traveler was never a god. Just an archfey who wanted a friend to cause chaos with.”

Vex began to put Caleb’s description together in her mind. Archfey and chaos. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask, “You wouldn’t  _ happen  _ to know this archfey’s name would you?”

“He said his name is Artagan.”

Vex scoffed, “That bitch! Honestly, I’m not surprised though”

“You know him then?”

“Yeah, we know him. I’m the reason he is even on the Material Plane. I opened a gateway for him to come over. He’s a real bastard though, lots of tricks up his sleeve.”

“That would explain all the dicks” Caleb said under his breath, but Vex understood him and laughed.

“Dicks? Yeah sounds about right.”

Caleb smiled. It was nice to have something to joke about after such an emotional day. Silence filled the room. “What is going to happen now?” Caleb asked. 

Allura waited for a moment, “I’m not completely sure. I am going to have to report back to the Arcana Pansophical. Being honest, it’s really up to politics now.”

Caleb seemed unsure, “So there’s nothing else for me to do?” he asked. Caleb wanted to see everything go through. He wanted to witness every step of the plan. He still wanted to watch the Assembly burn to the ground. But alas, if it was up to politics, all Caleb could do was watch.

“Unfortunately, yes, you don’t have much to do right now. You may need to confirm your story to the Pansophical, but that is not right now. You have time. Go back to your friends. Relax for a bit. You’ve done so much lately. You deserve a rest,” Allura explained.

“What if I don’t want to rest? I don’t know if I can go back to normal life after this,” Caleb replied.

Vex sighed “It won’t be easy, believe me,” She looked Caleb in the eyes, “Things are going to be different. I haven’t met them, but I’m sure your group needs you. You’re powerful, Caleb, but you’re even more powerful with a group. It’s for the best that you return. It doesn’t have to be right now. We can wait until morning, but I really think you should let us handle the politics. It’s what we are best at.”

Caleb nodded, “Ok,” he said through his breath.

Vex smiled at him, “Oh come here,” and she pulled Caleb into a hug. He let her hold him for a moment before raising his arms to hug her back. A tear rolled down Caleb’s cheek and landed on Vex’s shoulder. Vex released him from the hug, but kept her hands on his shoulders, “You should get some sleep, it’s been a long day.”

Caleb nodded again, “Thank you,” He turned around and walked slowly to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah look a chapter. i definitely didnt stop writing this because i didnt know how to write people following percy down the hallway. >:) part of it was me moving as well. anyways, i actually had the plot for this chapter planned out unlike every other chapter. and i think the next might be the last, at least in this story. i might make a secondary fic to go with it. also i have a whole backstory for sophia the servant (thank you sophia from discord for letting me use your name). and as always, a lot of caleb's anxiety is based off of my own and how i deal with it.  
> hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> follow me places:  
> linktr.ee/friedtoffee


	12. Chapter 12

Caleb made his way to his room slowly and in silence. He entered the room, face planted onto the bed, and passed out. Sleep took him quickly. 

As Caleb slept, flames began to flicker across his vision. The flames grew larger and hotter, encompassing himself. Caleb could make out figures on the other side of the flames. He focused and attempted to push through the fire. Sweat dripped down Caleb’s face as the fire continued to rage around him. With one final push, Caleb escaped the flames that surrounded him. He gasped for a breath of clean air. He closed his eyes and breathed for a second. Caleb looked up to face the figures he saw through the flame. In front of him stood a female and male, a couple holding hands. Burned, their faces destroyed and Caleb could not make out who they were. Fire still burned, circling Caleb and the couple.

The man looked Caleb in the eyes, “How could you Bren?”

The woman spoke next, “Bren, how could you do this to us?”

The realization burst into Caleb’s mind. In front of him stood his parents. His breath hitched, and he began to step back, “I,” he stuttered, “I’m so sorry. This wasn’t meant to happen,” Caleb continued to back up, as the fire burned at his back. The tears that fell down his face evaporated as soon as they escaped his eyes. 

The fire flared up, first engrossing Caleb’s parents before he too was once again in the flames. His parents screamed, but he could not see them. The fire kept going for what felt like multiple hours. The searing pain shot through Caleb’s body. No burns were appearing on him, but he could feel the intense heat and pain. In reality, the hours Caleb spent trapped in the fire was only a few seconds. The raging fire retreated once again.

This time in front of Caleb stood Trent Ikithon, tall and proud. Ikithon looked down on Caleb in disgust and laughed at him, “You weren’t strong enough to graduate, why would you think you are strong enough to kill me?” 

Caleb began to back away. He did not get very far before he hit something—he looked down—no, someone. He hit someone. On the ground behind him lay Allura, bloody and dead. To the left lay Percy and Vex in the same state. 

“See,” Ikithon’s voice filled the area, “you have no more allies now. It’s just you and me. Just like before. Now be a good student Bren, and follow my instructions.” Caleb felt Ikithon take control of his mind before the fire surrounded him again. 

Caleb shot up in his bed, gasping for air. He patted the bed, as he looked around to take in his surroundings. He was in his room at Whitestone Castle. At the foot of the bed lay Frumpkin, his cat. He could hear the wind blowing against the outer walls of the castle. Caleb took a deep breath. It was early in the morning now, 3:28. Too early for him to leave his room. Instead of going back to sleep, Caleb grabbed his spellbook out of his bag and began to read through it again. Once he finished going through the spellbook, he grabbed another book and read until 8am. 

When the clock inside Caleb’s head hit 8 am, he closed his book and began to get ready for the day. Caleb walked down to the dining room. When he arrived, Allura, Vex, and Percy were already at the table drinking coffee and tea. Percy had a piece of paper in front of him as they talked, and he was writing something down. When Caleb entered, the conversation stopped. 

“Good morning Caleb,” Allura said.

“Good morning,” Caleb responded quietly, as he took a seat at the table across from Percy, “What are you writing?” He asked, gesturing to the paper.

Percy looked up from the paper, “I’m writing a letter to the Tal’dorei Council. We want to make sure that they know that the Dwendalian Empire will be,” he paused to think for a moment, “will be going through some tension and inner conflict. It’s a basic courtesy. And it is easier to send a letter with Allura than it is to go all the way down to Emon.” 

“Oh, you’re leaving Allura?” Caleb asked.

“Soon,” Allura paused, “I’m not leaving until you go back to your friends, but I have to report to the Arcana Pansophical. You know, politics”

“I understand,” Caleb said. 

The rest of the breakfast continued in silence. Caleb ate slowly, his mind drifting off to his dream. He still had so many questions that never got answered. It still seemed strange, Ikithon dead and not him. Caleb did not understand why he wasn’t killed all those years ago, why he was put in the sanatorium instead. All these questions left unanswered, and he just had to go back to the Nein. Caleb dreaded the moment he would see Astrid and Eodwulf again. God, Astrid is probably thrilled that Ikithon is dead. Caleb remembered how she talked about wanting to take Ikithon’s place. For all Caleb knew, the Assembly would promote Astrid and convince the Pansophical that Ikithon died of natural causes or something like that. He didn’t know what Astrid would be like if she took Ikithon’s place. Would she be more like the Astrid he once knew, or would she be like Ikithon? Caleb knew that he shouldn’t think about all the what ifs. Allura, Vex, and Percy would take care of the politics and he does not have to worry about it. He can trust them, but it’s just so hard for him to trust that everything will go the right way. Caleb focused back on the day ahead of him. As he ate, he began to go through the teleport spell that would take him back to the Nein. It was a new spell he hadn’t used before, but he was familiar with it. Essek would use the spell to take the Nein to various locations when Caleb didn’t have a circle there. Caleb wasn’t sure if just the name of the place would get him to the Nein safely, but it worked before when they were going after the white dragon. 

Caleb stood up from his seat after finishing his meal in silence, “I’m going to go get my things together,” he said and began to walk back to his room. 

While Caleb walked to his room, Jester’s voice popped back into his head,  _ Hey Caleb! When you coming back? This place is super creepy and people lose their memories. Can you ask Allura if she knows a Vilya? _

Caleb responded right away,  _ I’m coming back very soon. I have a lot to tell you. I’ll ask her. _

Caleb did not make it very far before he received another message from Jester,  _ Good can’t wait to see you again. Also Vilya is from Tal’dorei and she is from the Air Ashari. She had a daughter but she- _

_ Thank you, I’ll pass on the information. _

Caleb packed up his belongings quickly and made his way back to the dining room. When Caleb reached the dining room, he realized that everyone had finished their breakfast as well and had left the room. He quickly found them in one of the sitting rooms.

Allura stood when Caleb entered the room, “You ready to leave?” she asked. 

“No, not really,” Caleb paused and looked at the floor for a moment before addressing Allura again, “ Before I go, Jester sent me a message asking if you happen to know someone named Vilya. They found her on the island. She says she’s from Tal’dorei and is a part of the Air Ashari.”

Allura thought for a moment, “I don’t believe I know a Vilya, but-”

“But,” Vex popped in to continue, “the name is familiar and if she is an Air Ashari, chances are Keyleth knows her. I’ll ask her when I get a chance, but for now, you should go Caleb. Be with your friends, they’ll need you.”

Caleb sighed, “I understand. I guess this is goodbye for now,”

“For now,” Percy said, “Don’t be a stranger. You and your friends are always welcome in Whitestone.”

Caleb smiled and said one last goodbye before muttering the incantation, and with a rush of arcane energy, he was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I lied. This is not the last chapter, but the end is coming soon.   
> Comments are always appreciated
> 
> follow me places:  
> linktr.ee/friedtoffee


	13. Chapter 13

Caleb appeared in the middle of a forest. Trees were all around him and he wasn’t quite sure if he had landed on the target, but he hoped he was at least on the island of Rumblecusp. The trees around him would be hard to navigate without knowing his surroundings. He thought for a moment before pulling out a cocoon and cast polymorph on himself and turned into a giant eagle. Caleb took off towards the sky. 

The island below was beautiful, unlike anything Caleb had ever seen before. Not too far into the distance he could see the large volcano with a light stream of smoke constantly escaping from the top of the mountain. Caleb decided he must have completed the spell successfully, as he did not know of many other volcanic islands in the Lucidian Ocean. The island of Rumblecusp was very strange. While Caleb had landed in the middle of a dense jungle, from the air, he could see a petrified forest and stone ruins to the north. Parts of the island close to the volcano seemed to be devoid of color. Nothing here made sense to Caleb. He knew from Jester that there was something strange going on on the island, but was the strange landscape a part of it? As he continued to fly around the island in search of his friends, he noticed a clearing that seemed to have buildings in it. He flew closer and landed on the outskirts of what seemed to be like a village. Jester had mentioned other people on the island so there was a possibility that his friends were in there. 

Caleb dropped his polymorph spell and transformed back into himself. As he entered the village, people began to approach Caleb and welcomed him to “Vo”. He gathered pretty quickly that the name of the village must be Vo. Everyone seemed very friendly, but Caleb kept his guard up as he remembered Jester telling him that people would lose their memories. Not long after Caleb entered the village, he was approached by a large orcish man. 

“Welcome to Vo,” the man said, “I am Lukash, one of three leaders of the village. What is your name?”

“My name is Caleb Widogast. I am here to find my friends, they call themselves the Mighty Nein. Have you seen them?” Caleb asked. 

Recognition flashed across Lukash’s eyes, “Ah yes. They said they were one down. Unfortunately, they are not here right now. They left a few days ago with Viridian, our spiritual leader, to ask permission of Vokodo, our great god of this island, to hold some sort of event here.”

“Thank you for your help anyway,” Caleb paused and thought for a moment, “Would I be correct in assuming that this Vokodo lives in the volcano?”

“Yes, you would. Though I do not recommend taking the journey alone. It is quite dangerous outside of the village.” Lukash said.

“I wouldn’t worry, I am quite capable of taking care of myself in dangerous situations,” Caleb turned around and before he could walk away, he spotted a familiar tortle.

Orly noticed Caleb as well and approached him with as much of a smile that a tortle can have, “It is good to mmm see you mmmm Caleb. Everyone will be mmmm happy to see you,”

“That is good to know,” Caleb said with a smile, “do you happen to know where they are?”

“They mmm said something about mmm the falls in the mmm north” Orly responded.

“Thank you Orly, that is very helpful.”

“You are welcome.”

Orly turned to leave and Caleb transformed back into an eagle and took back off towards the sky. He began to head towards the north of the island. It was a longer journey than Caleb first expected it to be and he had to land and repolymorph a couple times, using more power than he would have liked. The falls were rather easy to find. After all, there was a large spout of water shooting high up into the air past a cliffside. He dove down to fly closer to the ground and began to look for the Nein. It did not take too long. The Nein was a very colorful group and therefore not very hard to miss. He landed right behind Beauregard and let out a squawk in her ear before quickly transforming back into himself. Beau spun around ready to punch the large bird but was met with a laughing Caleb.

Beauregard dropped her fists, “Godammit Caleb, you scared the shit out of me,” 

Before Caleb could even respond, Jester was running towards him, “Caleb! You’re back!” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

“Yes I am,” he responded, “I did say I would be coming back very soon.”

Jester took a step back and looked up at Caleb, “Why didn’t you just ask Allura to tell us then?”

Caleb sighed and the happy expression fell from his face, “Allura is a very busy woman Jester. She had important business to get to right after I left.”

“Oh, I understand,” Jester paused before continuing in a much happier tone, “Anyway, this is Vilya, the super cool druid we met from Tal’dorei who lost her memory,” She gestured towards a tanned woman with long brown hair and one of her legs was made of intertwined plants and vines, “and Vilya this is our friend Caleb!”

Vilya stepped towards Caleb, “It is very good to finally meet you. Your friends have told me quite a bit about you.”

“And it is good to meet you as well. I’m sure you know then that I have just come back from Tal’dorei. The people I was staying with have a close friend who is part of the Air Ashari and they are going to ask her about you so hopefully you can reunite with your family.” Caleb explained.

“Your friends, their friend in the Air Ashari, you wouldn’t happen to know her name would you?”

“Actually yes, I do.” Vilya smiled at this, “Her name is Keyleth.”

Vilya gasped and stumbled backwards, “Are you sure her name is Keyleth?”

“Yes, I am sure. Do you know her?” 

Vilya clasped her hand over her mouth as tears of joy began to run down her face, “Keyleth,” she paused to collect herself, “Keyleth is my daughter. Did you see her? Is she doing alright?”

Caleb smiled, “I did not see her, but I was with her friends. Your daughter is doing well. I hear she is quite powerful and even saved the world. I’m sure she will be happy to know you are alive.”

“I- I don’t know what to say. I think I’m going to take some time alone to process this. Thank you!” Vilya gave Caleb a quick hug before walking away from the group. 

“Now it’s time for you to tell us everything about Tal’dorei!” Jester said.

“And if you know who is on the Council of Tal’dorei” Veth chimed in.

Both Fjord and Beau gave Caleb a look, but only Beau spoke, “And you better not leave anything out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh oh, its been a while. ive been busy with starting college but finally had some free time to write. we are getting closer to the end. ALSO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 400 KUDOS AND 7.5k HITS!!!  
> comments and kudos are always appriciated
> 
> follow me  
> @friedtoffee basically everywhere


	14. Chapter 14

Caleb glanced back and forth against the group, “There is a lot to talk about,” he paused, “Ah, perhaps it is better if we sit. I, uh, I have a lot to tell you.” Caleb shifted awkwardly down to the ground.

Taking Caleb’s queue, the rest of the Nein sat down in a circle next to Caleb. Jester, who was extremely excited to learn about Tal’dorei, rushed to take the spot right next to Caleb—to make sure she did not miss a single detail. Beau on the other hand, took the spot across the circle from Caleb. This way she could watch him as he told the tale and make sure Caleb wasn’t lieing about anything. 

Caleb took a deep breath, “Ok then, I’m sure you will have questions, so just jump in anytime. But I guess I will start from the beginning. As you probably know I wrote a letter to Allura to inform her about the turnout of peace talks, but also to tell her about the spell Essek and I worked on to help Veth become herself again. I thought she would be interested in it since she is also an accomplished mage. Allura graciously offered for me to come and visit her to discuss the spell together, and that is how I ended up going to Tal’dorei.”

“So you just left?” Fjord questioned Caleb.

“Ja, I figured that it was now or never. Chances were that arriving at Rumblecusp would probably get us wrapped up in something, which it looks like it is doing, but then I would be distracted and it could be weeks, or even months before we would see Allura again. I did not want to lose the opportunity.”

“You are an idiot,” Beau chimed in, “You know that right,”

“Ja, but—”

“Ah, I’m not done yet,” Beau picked back up before Caleb could continue, “no excuses. You could have told us that you wanted to talk to Allura. We would have made time for that. Just like how we are making time for Jester and Travelercon. You want your time, we take it. But you can’t just go off on your own. That’s not how this works.”

“I—” Caleb took a moment to collect his thoughts, “I know, but I got a lot of work done while I was gone and I—well let me just continue with the story. I did not visit Allura at her home, but rather at the home of some of her good friends she was visiting in Whitestone. So when I met Allura, I not only met her, but also her friends Lord Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the third and Lady Vex’ahila de Rolo.”

Beau blinked a few times in confusion before an excited smile took over her face, “You met part of Vox Machina? Wait hold on, Vilya said her daughter’s name is Keyleth. Oh my this is all coming together.”

Everyone except for Caleb looked at Beau with confusion spread across their faces. Beau stared back for a moment, hoping that someone else would recognize what she had just put together. 

“Ok, ok. Sorry Caleb my turn now,” Beau took a deep breath, “Ok so Vox Machina is another adventuring group that was together like 20 years ago. I studied them at the Cobalt Soul. They did all these crazy things like killing five ancient dragons that destroyed a bunch of Tal’dorei and Draconia, they defeated gods, hell they practically are gods. The two people Caleb said he met, Percy and Vex’ahlia, were both members of Vox Macina and so was Keyleth, whose mom we just saved from Vokodo.”

The group let out a few surprised “oh”s and Yasha gave an impressed “wow”

Caleb smiled at Beau, “Very impressive Beauregard. They are much more powerful than us, but they are not gods. They are however on the Tal’dorei council.”

“Forget them being powerful,” Veth cut in, “You met members of the Tal’dorei Council?”

“Yes, I did,” Caleb laughed, “Not the whole council, just them. But as I was going to say, they are just as strange and messed up as we are. We were having a night of drinking after discussing the spell and we talked all about the things we have done. I said some things in passing that I thought might be forgotten by the others in the morning. I should not have made that assumption.” Caleb paused for a second as the moment of him mentioning the sanatorium played back in his head a few times, “Now before I continue, there is one important thing you should know. Whitestone is the largest producer of residuum in all of Exandria.” Caleb stopped after this and waited for the importance of residuum to register with everyone. 

“Let’s just say that one thing led to another, Whitestone no longer does business with the Assembly, Ikithon is dead and now I’m here and ready for Travelercon” Caleb spend through the list of remaining events of the story. He was hoping that he could breeze right over the final events of his time in Whitestone and the entirety of his time in Rexxentrum. He was a fool for thinking that the Nein would share in his thinking and also gloss over the death of Trent Ikithon. 

“Woah, woah, woah,” Fjord said, “Did you just say that Trent Ikithon is dead? What happened to him?”

“It was not the plan,” Caleb’s tone shifted drastically. The excitement of telling about the early times in Whitestone wore off and Caleb became much more somber. “Then again when do plans actually ever work,” He tried to work humor into his words, but it did not work. “The plan—the real plan—was to just talk. Percy and Vex were so angry at Ikithon when I told them what he had done. They wanted to help me. I barely even knew them, yet they wanted to help. I did not understand why, but I let them. I helped them form a plan to hopefully get it to stop. To get him in trouble with people higher than the Empire. That was the plan.”

Caleb paused to take a breath. He ran his hands through his hair, “Like I said, the plan did not go as planned and our discussion quickly went south. We fought, right there in Ikithon’s office. And I killed him.”

Silence fell over the group. Caleb just looked at everyone waiting for someone to respond. No one made eye contact with him. Caduceus was the first to speak up, “He was for sure a bad man, but how are you feeling after that. I mean, that is a lot to do with people you have not known for that long. How are you?”

Caleb’s eyes began to tear up, “I—I think I am alright at the moment. I’m not in trouble, or at least as long as Allura is telling the truth, I will be alright. I wanted to be there to see everything out, but I was told I had to come back to you guys. I think I’m happy about that.” He smiled slightly. “They want to meet the rest of you though, Percy and Vex. We can go together, as a group, after Travelercon. We can bring Vilya back to her family. But for now,” Caleb turned to the side to face Jester, “Jester, it is time to focus on you and Travelercon. And I apologize for taking away your time to go do my own stuff.”

“Oh Caleb, it’s alright,” Jester flung her arms around Caleb and pulled him into a big hug.

Caleb smiled. It was nice to know that the Nein didn’t hate him for what he did. They were just a little mad about how careless he was. That was nothing new though, Caleb was often careless in his actions.

Jester popped up from the ground, “I’ll go get Vilya,” she said as she began to walk off towards Vilya. 

A few moments later Jester returned with Vilya. Caleb stood up to meet them and addressed Vilya, “We are going to go visit the people I just returned from after Jester’s event. I would love for you to come along, so you can see your family again.”

“Thank you so much. I don’t know how I can repay you,” Vilya said.

“Do not worry about it. I am just happy to help reunite a family.” Caleb replied. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got around to writing this chapter! Kind of a long chapter so I hope you enjoy!  
> I had a lot of fun with the chapter and Caleb saying Percy's full name is just for his own bragging rights and it will come up again. Next chapter will most likely be the last :)
> 
> comments and kudos appreciated! :) thank you for all your support so far.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the final chapter! enjoy

The rest of the Mighty Nein’s time on Rumblecusp went  _ mostly _ to plan. They successfully killed Vokodo with only a few hiccups like Yasha getting mind controlled again and almost being boiled alive. After finally freeing the island from Vokodo, Jester sent a message to Allura.

_ Hey Allura! We are coming to visit after Travelercon. So like in a week. We are bringing Vilya since you know her daughter apparently. See— _

_ Jester, good to know. You are correct I do know her daughter. I will make sure Keyleth is here. See you all soon. _

The rest of the week went smoothly as they began to prepare for the big event. Travelercon was eventful, to say the least. It was a nice break from the very stressful week Caleb had had. He enjoyed being able to relax and use his magic for fun. Caleb was excited to see how the Traveler would react when the entire group went to Whitestone. Artagan deserved to be put into place by more than just the Mighty Nein. The final night on Rumblecusp, everyone was gathered around the large bonfire in the VO community. 

Caleb looked up and addressed the group, “Tomorrow is the day then,” He turned to look at Jester, “Would you mind sending a message to Allura to tell her we will be arriving tomorrow.”

“Of course!” Jester smiled, “Fjord will you keep track for me?” When she turned to look at Fjord, he already had his hands up, “Oh you’re already ready, thanks”

Fjord laughed, “I always do this, why would I not be ready?”

Jester glared back at him, “Ok ok ok, I’m going to send the message to Allura.”

_ Hey Allura, It’s me, Jester. Just letting you know that we should be coming tomorrow. Can’t wait to see you! do do do do do _

_ Good to know. We will be ready for you. _

Jester sighed, “Why does no one else use all the words! It’s such a waste,” She paused. “Anyways, Allura says it’s all good that we come tomorrow!” Jester paused again, “So Caleb, can you tell us more about Whitestone. Like what’s it like there?”

“Ja, uhhh, it is much colder there than it is here. It is located in the north of Tal’dorei in the Alabaster Sierras,” Caleb continued on for the next half an hour dumping as much information as he could on Whitestone, but left out a few parts to leave as surprises for when they would arrive.

In the morning, Caleb gathered everyone inside of Vilya’s residence, “I have finally learned how to teleport without a circle like Essek would for us. It does take more energy and I can’t always do it, but that is how we are going to get to Whitestone today. There is a teleportation circle there, but I’d rather take you to a different location within the city than straight into the castle. Trust me, it’s a better experience,” Caleb paused and noticed as everyone gave small head nods, “Ready?” he asked. Head nods again, “To Whitestone we go,” Caleb smiled and with a few arcane words, they were off.

“Oh wow,” Caduceus said as soon as they landed, “You are one nice tree. Caleb you didn’t tell me how nice of a tree they have here.”

Caleb laughed, “I wanted it to be a surprise. Now come on, follow me up to the castle,” Caleb started walking down the path and pointed out little bits of information as they passed buildings.

Jester caught up to him, “Caleb why couldn’t you have taken us straight to the castle instead of the tree,” she complained.

“This is better trust me,” As he replied they passed a very colorful and extravagant shop, “Oh! And this is one of Gilmore’s shops. I’m not sure if he is in town right now, but you will have to meet him.” 

They didn’t make it much further before a familiar red head began to walk with the group, “Jester,” Artagan drew out her name, “What are we doing here?” 

“Artie! We are taking Vilya to see her daughter and to also meet Caleb’s new friends.” Jester replied.

“I’m sorry what,” Artagan was not nearly as excited to be in Whitestone as Jester.

Caleb was stifling a laugh, “Oh, I see I may have forgotten to tell Jester that you already know Vilya’s daughter, Keyleth.”

Artagan face dropped, “Now would you look at that, I have a follower asking for some help. Got to go. See you later Jess!” And with that he was gone.

“What the fuck was that,” Beau asked from the back of the group.

“Too much to explain right now,” Caleb answered, “but let’s just say that the Traveler has quite a bit of history with Vox Machina. Now onwards. We don’t want to keep Vilya from her daughter any longer,” He turned to look at Vilya, who smiled at him and nodded in thanks.

“We better get that explanation at some point Widogast,” 

“Don’t worry Beauregard, you will get the explanation soon. I’m just not the right person to explain all of it.”

“Ok let’s keep moving then,” Beau gave Caleb a little push forward to keep him moving. 

It was not long before the group finally reached the entrance to Castle Whitestone. Two guards at the front began to approach the group, holding their weapons at ready. Caleb held his hand up to the Mighty Nein, suggesting that they hold back for a moment. He stepped forward to address the guards.They exchanged a few quick words before Caleb turned back to the group to motion for them to follow him. 

“I’m not quite sure where everyone is right now,” Caleb said when the group began to follow him, “but it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone.”

Caleb decided to start leading the group towards the main living room. Chances were that there would be at least one person of interest in there. Luckily Caleb’s decision was a good one. He had pushed open the door to reveal Allura, Vex, Percy, and a woman with red hair that he had never met, but could only assume was Keyleth.

As Caleb began to move further into the room to allow room for everyone else to enter, Vilya, who was right next to him, was frozen in place, her eyes locked with the half elf with red hair on the couch. 

Keyleth stood up from the couch and took a step forward, “Mom?”

“Keyleth,” Vilya couldn’t move from her spot. She was so overwhelmed with emotion.

Keyleth ran over to Vilya and pulled her into a big hug, “I missed you so much,” Keyleth dropped the hug and looked at the Mighty Nein, “So you are the people who found my mom?”

“Yup! That’s us!” Jester responded.

“Thank you so much,” A tear rolled down Keyleth’s cheek, “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

As Keyleth and Vilya began to catch up and Percy and Vex’ahlia introduced themselves to the rest of the Nein, Allura approached Caleb, “Can we talk in private for a moment?”

“Of course,” Caleb followed Allura off into the hallway, and they closed the door behind them.

“I have some good news,” Allura smiled, “Everything that we did has been cleared, and the Arcana Pansophical will be launching a full investigation into the entirety of the Cerberus Assembly. Everything will be revealed, and anyone involved with anything illegal will be prosecuted.”

Caleb let out a sigh of relief, “That is,” He paused, unsure of what word fit properly, “incredible. Thank you.”

“You deserve it,” Allura said, “I hope that now no one will ever have to go through what you went through again. Now let’s go back and socialize. That is why you are here after all,” Allura laughed and led Caleb back into the room. 

Caleb joined right back with the rest of the Nein and began to listen to their conversation. He took a deep breath and smiled. For the first time in sixteen years, Caleb Widogast felt like he could relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello readers!  
> Thank you all so much for reading this fic (and waiting forever between uploads). I have had so much fun writing this and I hope that you enjoyed reading it as well. I am blown away with all the support I have received while writing this. It has been amazing. This is the end of this story. Thank you again.  
> Your author,   
> Toffee  
> (as always kudos and comments appreciated) :)


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